Best of 2013 - Zeno Agency Ltd.

Zeno Clients Getting Love in Best Of & Anticipated Posts

Posted on Saturday, December 21st, 2013

We’re delighted to report that many Zeno clients and their novels have been popping up in Best Of and Anticipated Books lists all over the internet! Naturally, we are in total agreement with these nods. We’ll share some of them on here, when possible.

Over on the Book Plank, James P. Blaylock‘s THE AYLESFORD SKULL (Titan Books) was selected as one of the best five steampunk novels of the year. In the same year-end post, Brandon Sanderson‘s THE RITHMATIST (Orion Children’s) and Ian McDonald‘s PLANESRUNNER (Jo Fletcher Books) were selected as two of the top five YA novels of the year.

As well as recognition in 2013 lists, upcoming Zeno titles have been flagged as highly anticipated books of 2014. For example, A Fantastical Librarian selected Myke Cole‘s BREACH ZONE (Headline) and Tanya Huff‘s THE ENCHANTMENT EMPORIUM and THE WILD WAYS (Titan Books) as among their Most Anticipated 2014 fantasy novels.

BookPlankBestOf2013-Small

Zeno represents Brandon Sanderson and Tanya Huff in the UK and Commonwealth on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Zeno Well-Represented in Amazon UK’s Best 2013 SFF on Kindle!

Posted on Friday, December 20th, 2013

We’re delighted to share the news (and draw your attention to these titles) that Amazon UK has selected five titles by Zeno clients for their Best SFF 2013 on Kindle! Here are the selectees…

Ben Aaronovitch‘s BROKEN HOMES (Gollancz)

Peter V. Brett‘s THE DAYLIGHT WAR (Voyager)

Charlaine Harris‘s DEAD EVER AFTER (Gollancz)

Brandon Sanderson‘s STEELHEART (Gollancz) and A MEMORY OF LIGHT (Orbit)

All of these are, of course, excellent selections – perfect, you might say, for Christmas and the holidays…

Zeno represents Peter V. Brett, Charlaine Harris and Brandon Sanderson in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

Ian Tregillis’s SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT is not to be missed!

Posted on Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

Reviews have started to pour in for Ian Tregillis‘s latest novel, the noir, supernatural mystery SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT, and they have continued the precedent set by his critically-acclaimed Milkweed trilogy – that is, they are glowing. The novel has been published by Tor Books in the United States. Additionally, it has been selected by Kirkus as a Best Book of 2013 in the SFF category and a not-to-be-missed December release by io9.

Amy Goldschlager, in her Best Book of 2013 post about SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT, talked with Ian a bit about the book, and described it as ‘… a brain-bending combo of angelic cosmogony, high-level physics and meta-noir… dazzling and dark, and more than a little quirky.’

From the io9 post, Charlie Jane Anders had the following to say: ‘Tregillis wowed people with his Milkweed Triptych, beginning with BITTER SEEDS. Now he’s back with a Dashiell Hammett-style murder mystery set in Thomas Aquinas’ version of Heaven. Just re-read that last sentence a couple times. And now that we’re all savagely jealous that Tregillis beat us to this amazing concept.’

Here are just a selection of some of the other reviews that have come through…

‘[A] doozy… Superlatives seem superfluous. Instead…wow. Just—wow.’ — Kirkus

‘Tregillis’ amazing new fantasy thriller is a tour de force: a real nail-biting page-turner. Set in a post- apocalyptic future, his cerebral, inventive narrative is a mix of classic gumshoe and quantum physics/theology. With an “OMG!” ending and characters who are anything but cookie-cutter, Tregillis solidifies his place as a brilliant voice in the genre.’ — RT Book Reviews

‘… this book is something completely and absolutely different… One thing all of Tregillis’ books have in common is the stunning prose that flood his books with atmosphere and bring the scene and situation to glorious life… Tregillis combines his incredible prose, and stunningly complex world filled with unforgettable characters to create something new, nuanced, and different. This book is impossible to put down, and is an incredibly fast mover… SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT shows Tregillis at his finest…’ (5/5) — Bookworm Blues

‘When it comes to the world he has created in this book, I can only boggle in amazement… Tregillis has managed to completely floor me… I also adore Ian Tregillis’ writing style, which I’ve always figured was well suited for darker, more evocative stories, and as such I thought it was perfect for a book like this. Plus, I was just wowed by Bayliss’ voice and mannerisms, which are straight out of a crime noir novel of the 30s or 40s. I think that was the most impressive of all, and it’s obvious that great lengths were taken to make his character sound true to that particular era and genre.’ — Bibliosanctum

Ian’s Milkweed trilogy – BITTER SEEDS, THE COLDEST WAR, and NECESSARY EVIL – has been published by Orbit Books in the UK. Orbit are also due to publish the author’s next series, Clakkers, in 2014.

Speaking of NECESSARY EVIL, and in yet more great news for Ian’s fiction: the final installment of the Milkweed trilogy has been selected by BuzzFeed as one of their 14 Greatest Science Fiction Novels of the Year! This is a well-deserved accolade! The novel was also one of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist’s top Top 10 of 2013.

Zeno represents Ian Tregillis in translation and the UK/Commonwealth on behalf of Kay McCauley.

Lavie Tidhar’s THE VIOLENT CENTURY is a Best SFF of 2013! Twice!!

Posted on Monday, December 9th, 2013

We’re very happy to report that Lavie Tidhar‘s THE VIOLENT CENTURY, published by Hodder Books in the UK, has been selected for two Best of 2013 lists! Both the Guardian and Daily Mail newspapers featured the novel in their end-of-year selections. Here’s what they had to say…

‘THE VIOLENT CENTURY… may be his best yet: a blistering alt-historical retelling of a 20th century lousy with superheroes.’ — The Guardian, Best SFF of 2013

‘Part pulp fiction, part spy novel… Startling, moving and cleverly turned (spot the walk-on parts for real comic book artists) the novel delivers epic scale, sharply observed detail and a real emotional wallop.’ — Daily Mail 12 Books for Christmas 2013

THE VIOLENT CENTURY has racked up an impressive number of gushing reviews already. Here’s the synopsis, in case you somehow missed it…

They’d never meant to be heroes.

For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.

But there must always be an account… and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.

Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism – a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields – to answer one last, impossible question:

What makes a hero?

Ian Tregillis’s SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT is a Kirkus Best of 2013!

Posted on Monday, November 18th, 2013

This fantastic news just in: Kirkus Reviews have selected Ian Tregillis‘s SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT as one of the Best SFF Books of 2013! The book is due to be published by Tor Books in the US on December 3rd, 2013.

Here’s the synopsis…

A Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler inspired murder mystery set in Thomas Aquinas’s vision of Heaven. It’s a noir detective story starring fallen angels, the heavenly choir, nightclub stigmatics, a priest with a dirty secret, a femme fatale, and the Voice of God.

Somebody has murdered the angel Gabriel. Worse, the Jericho Trumpet has gone missing, putting Heaven on the brink of a truly cosmic crisis. But the twisty plot that unfolds from the murder investigation leads to something much bigger: a con job one billion years in the making.

Because this is no mere murder. A small band of angels has decided to break out of heaven, but they need a human patsy to make their plan work.

Much of the story is told from the point of view of Bayliss, a cynical fallen angel who has modeled himself on Philip Marlowe. The yarn he spins follows the progression of a Marlowe novel—the mysterious dame who needs his help, getting grilled by the bulls, finding a stiff, getting slipped a mickey.

Angels and gunsels, dames with eyes like fire, and a grand maguffin, Something More Than Night is a murder mystery for the cosmos.

And here is what Kirkus had to say in their review: ‘Superlatives seem superfluous. Instead… wow. Just—wow.’

Zeno represents Ian Tregillis in the UK and Commonwealth, and also in translation, on behalf of Kay McCauley.